Welcome to the Hatena Featured Artist section of our blog, where we introduce Flipnote creators from around the world.
Today's Hatena Featured Artist is Aaron (id:aaron), who is a member of the Flipnote Hatena team.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Aaron and I work as the International Liaison at Hatena. I translate the online services at Hatena to English from Japanese, write the Flipnote Hatena Weekly News blog, and answer some of the emails we get in English.
I am originally from the United States, but have been living in Japan since 1995. Before I came to Hatena I taught video production and animation at a school in Kyoto, Japan, and worked on television programs and films.
What are your interests or hobbies, and how do you spend your free time?
I spend a lot of time using computers at work, so I like to get away from computers and enjoy the "real world" whenever I can. I enjoy spending time with my family, photography, cycling, and traveling.
Please introduce some of your best Flipnotes, and tell us why you like them.
★ This is a series of photographs that I took from Hatena's office window in Kyoto.
★ This is the first Flipnote I posted. The space monster is a rabbit toy with some octopus legs added.
★ I like this short animation of a little cube character and the subtle sounds.
★ I used a magnet to slowly move pieces of iron flakes onto the face of this character.
★ For this one I copied and pasted a series of images of myself opening and closing my eyes.
★ I added my face to a moon and a star in this simple animation.
★ I tried to transform my face into a monkey in this Flipnote.
What techniques or skills are you especially good at in your Flipnotes?
I like using the Nintendo DSi Camera for my Flipnotes, and hope that my animations make people laugh or smile.
What are some techniques or skills that you wish to improve, try, or learn to do in order make your Flipnotes better?
I would create more hand drawn animations instead of depending so much on the Nintendo DSi Camera. All of the Flipnotes I have posted are just short ideas -- I would like to make some longer ones when I get the time.
Please introduce some of your favorite artists on Flipnote Hatena, and tell us why you like them or their Flipnotes.
Since Flipnote Hatena began in August 2009 I have added stars to over 35,000 Flipnotes and have added over 1,600 users to my Favorites list. For this reason it is quite difficult to narrow down a list of my favorite creators, and I couldn't possibly list them all here.
If you want to see the types of Flipnotes that I like, please have a look at the Flipnote Hatena Weekly News blog -- I personally choose most of the Flipnotes that are featured there.
Is there something you would like to say to the Flipnote Hatena community?
We have created a very special community here on Flipnote Hatena, and I am proud to be a part of it. I would like to thank all of you for your supportive comments and feedback, and I will never forget the amazing times that we had together here on Flipnote Hatena!
Editor's note:
This is the final edition of the Hatena Featured Artist that we will be posting. We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who has allowed us to interview them since we started posting the Hatena Featured Artist in October 2009.
We will continue to post the Flipnote Hatena Weekly News until the service closes on May 31, 2013.
We would like to express our thanks to the Flipnote Hatena community for your readership and support over the past 3 years. Everyone who has ever posted a Flipnote is a Hatena Featured Artist!
Thanks for checking out the Hatena Featured Artist, and please let us know any feedback that you have in the box below. Also, please be sure to check out Flipnotes by the creator we interviewed here, and show them your support with your stars and comments!
